February 18th, 2008 I think that one of the things that I struggle with the most as a web designer is the delicate balance between realism and idealism–the idea that I should only be involved in projects that somehow better myself or my clients, especially based on their artistic merits. A sense of regret and frustration fills me when many of the projects I am involved in are finally published, and I feel that an opportunity has been lost. Either the site is hurried and thus lacks the polish that I’d like to give it, or we are not given the materials or clarity we require to do our best work.

Of course, sometimes we simply drop the ball — it’d be silly to assume otherwise. However, I do feel most of the problem is bad communication, and that is an issue that you can solve. I suppose I live in a dream world where I expect every project to be portfolio-worthy.

Of course, this cannot always be the case. Moreover, much of the time the client leaves completely satisfied, and it is only I who am disappointed, unaware that we have actually fulfilled the main objective — to make their voice heard on the web, and get their message out to their customers. If I succeed there, then the client is happy and I should be happy.

Sometimes their artistic goals are much more modest than mine are. However, lately at my job I have been dealing with an endless cycle of frustration — lacking the opportunity to speak directly with many of our clients, and thus lacking the ability to give my creative input, give direction to the client, or educate them about why we are suggesting a specific direction. This is something I struggle with constantly, and I doubt any specific person, client,